Electric-light display system.



H. E. WAY.

ELECTRIC LIGHT DISPLAY SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 11.29, 1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

000000000 KFw HQ? j mur-o-vvwwwwwwwww F 1 J HOWARD E. WAY, OF EASTON, HNNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC-LIGHT DISPLAY SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Application filed April 29, 191}. Serial No. 624,097.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, HowARn E. WAY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Easton, in the county of Northampton and State of P nnsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectrieLigh-t Display Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to display systems commonly employed for advertising purposes in which a display board supports a multiplicity oi incandescent electric lamps which are connected by suitable wiring with circuit making breaking devices in an: operating board wherein the arrangement is such tl by manipulating appropriate keys t-hecircuits may be closed any desired larn i or groups of lamps the display boar to view by means otthe glowing lamps any desired letter, combination of letters or otl'ier characters or designs- According operating boa which is so organise be easily an 1 "312 closed.

carr o my invention, employ display ow similar to those hereto-tore used, anc; onnect the liampsoi the display board to ccn-tacts in the operating board which cooperate with movable contacts for closing the lamp circuits. The movable contacts are provided with heads on magnetic material or material which can be attracted by a permanent magnet or an elec iny'inrention provide an: improved construction at the lamp circuits tromagnet and moved to the necessary enl n'ip circuits. l proor this kind for each so: when a contact is close th' lamp circuit to any closing the circuit or tent to close the vide a inc lamp ci moved it desired lar any oth For operating the movable cont provide either a permanent electromagnet, preferably the is adapted to be in the operator and moved over the operating to select the proper contacts to move them thus ignite the dcsired lamps to display on the display board the desired characters or designs. I prei erabl'y place over the contacts a plate of glass and move the magnet over the glass plate in such sroniinity tothe movable conmagnetor taets as y m y be operated. Such las enables the operator see the development of the design by inspecting the contacts, affords a rest for the hand of the operator while at work, and avoids any danger of the contacts being accidentally moved mechanically. l have also provided means by which after a number of contacts have been moved from normal position independently they may be simultaneously restored to their normal position.

Other features of my invention will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In the accompanying drawingszeFigure l is a diagram showing a display board, an operating board and the circuit connections between the two boards. Fig. 2 is a detail view, showing the devices by means of which the contacts, after having been moved from normal position, may be restored thereto simnltaneously. Fig. 3 is a. diagram, showing the circuit connections between one set of contacts and one oi the lamps, the movable contact being shown by full lines in its normal position, and by dotted lines in the position it assumes after having been moved,- by the electromagnet. similar view, showing the position oi the movable contact after it has been moved by the electromagnet to" close the circuit torouggh a lamp. Fig. 5 is a perspective view, showing one set or"- stationary and mov- 1 able contacts.

The: display board A may be of substantially the same construction, as those heretofore used in this art and may be or" any desired; size and carry any desired number of incandescent lamps B. These may be arranged symmetrically as shown or in any other desired way. Each individual lamp may connected, to a common return wire m and to an individual wire 3 as is also usual in this The source of electric energy C may be of any suitable kind and appropriately located. The system as thus far described will therefore be observed is of the usual hind and my improvements may thus be applied to display boards of usual construction. The operating boardl) is, however, of novel construction. lit may be made in various ways and yet embody my improvements. The preferred construction is shown the drawings. The stationary cont-acts are mounted on a base of suit able insulating material, there being preferably a pair ofcontact plates 6, 8 con nect'ed with each lamp one cat the contacts lisa 6 being connected with the common return wire :0 and the other contact being connected with an individual wire y. The plates 6, c are out of contact with each other mechanically and are electrically insulated from each other by the base plate F.

In connection with each pair of contacts E I employ a movable contact G, comprising a shank g and a head 9'. The movable contact G is pivoted to a supporting bracket H by a horizontal pivot pin preferably arranged mid-way between its upper and lower ends and held in .suchmanner that the end 9 of the shank may enter between the contacts 6, e and close the circuit thereof. The head 9' is preferably made Suficiently large and heavy to provide a weight for holding the contact in either its normal position as shown in Fig. 5 to open the circuit or in the position shown in Fig. 4: to close the circuit through the stationary contacts. The contacts 6, e and the end 9 of the movable contact are, however, made somewhat yielding so that when the movable contact is in engagement with the stationary contact it will be held in place by slight pressure which, however, is suficient to keep the circuit closed unless the movable contact is designedly restored to its normal position. The head g of each movable contact is preferably formed with a part at which-is difierently colored from the other part of the head so that when the movable contact is moved to close its circuit the part at will face the operator. Tn this way when a number of contacts have been moved to close certain circuits to produce a design the same design will appear in the operating board and the operator can thus follow the formation or the design as it progresses, knowing that the design pro duced on the; operating board is produced also on the display board.

To operate the movable contacts T may employ a permanent magnet but preferably use an-electromagnet. This may be in the form of a rod of suitable size, preferably about the size of an ordinary pencil, surrounded by a coil having circuit wires connected with any suitable source of electricity. This device is indicated at M in Fig. 1. moving the electromagnet over the operating board and bringing it into.

proximity to certain selected movable contacts, these contacts may be operated to close corresponding circuits and thus cause corresponding lamps to be ignited in the display board and present any desired characters or designs. The contacts are preferably covered by a glass plate N placed just above the heads of the movable contacts and the electromagnet lill may be moved over this glass plate in sufficiently close proximity to the movable contacts to operate them. The operator may rest his hand on oa er/s the glass plate without interfering with the contacts and accidental -movement of the contacts is thus avoided, it being impossible to manually and practically operate them except by magnetic devices.-

I have provided means by which after different contacts have been moved to close a plurality of lamp circuits they may be all restored to normal. position simultaneously. A device for this purpose is shown in Fig. 2 and is also indicated in Figs. 3 andt. It comprises rods 0 resting on the brackets Hbehind the movable contacts and connected at their ends to a bar T at the side of the operating board. Normally the rods 0 are arrangedin the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 so as to permit the movable contacts to swing on their pivots without interference; but when it is desired to restore to normal position all the movable contacts which have been moved to close the lamp circuits, the rod P may be moved to cause the rods 0 to engage the movable contacts, move them over to normal position and break the circuits which they previously closed and thus extinguish the lamps with which they are connected.

The construction of the operating board is thus very simple, electromagnetic switches involving the use of separate coils for each set of contacts being dispensed with and the contacts are of such simple construction that a very large number of them be arranged within convenient reach of the operator on a board of comparatively small dimensions, and in this way also the display board may be made of much larger dimensions than heretofore and contain a greater number of electric lamps, all controlled by an operator in charge of an operating board or relatively small dimensions. A skilled operator can close appropriate circuits and produce the desired designs with great rapidity and any designs may be instantly obliterated and new designs brought to view, whenever desired.

T claim as my invention 1. Tu an electric lamp display system, the combination with electric circuits and lamps in said circuits of mechanism for a controlling said circuits comprising an operatlng board provided with stationary contacts, movable contacts cooperating with said stationary contacts to close said electrio circuits, said movable contacts being provided with. armature members, a movable magnet adapted to cctiperate with said armatures to cause said movable contacts to close said circuits, and a transparent insulating covering for said contacts interposed betweensaid armatures and said movable magnet.

2. Tn a' device of the class described, the combination of an operating board provided with a series of pairs of open contacts an switch member for each pair of contacts adapted to close the same, said switch mem her being provided with a head of magnetic material, indicating means upon each of said switch members to indicate when said switch hasbeen operated to close a circuit, a singlemagnet adapted to operate any switch, and a transparent non-combustible covering over said switch members and interposed between the same and said magnet.

'3. In combination, a plurality of electric circuits, a switch board holding switches adapted to close the respective circuits, each switch including a pivoted member having thereon areas of different aspects, the arrangement of said areas being such that they are respectively visible and invisible when'the switch is respectively opened or closed, a transparent covering for said switches, and means for opening and closing said switches.

4:. In an electric display system the combination with a plurality of electric circuits and lamps in said circuits, of an operating board, switches on the operatin board one for each circuit and each of which switches includes a pivoted portion provided with areas of different aspects arranged with relation to the opened and closed positions of the switches whereby the design displayed in the lamps is also displayed on the switches, and means for operating the switches.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name. I

HOWARD E.'WA.Y. Witnesses:

LLOYD B. WIGHT, CHARLES F. EARLY. 

